Pontiac man accused of robbery has charges dropped

Charges against a Pontiac man have been dismissed after employees at the McDonald's that he was accused of robbing testified that the actual perpetrator was much taller than him.

Albert Rucks, 41, was arrested in January and charged with larceny from a person. Rucks was in the drive-thru at the McDonald's in the 44000 block of Woodward when an employee thought she recognized him from an October robbery of the store.

"At the preliminary exam, (the employee) went 'Oh no, that's not the guy,' and they did that on the (witness) stand," Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper said Wednesday.

"They said the (man who robbed the store) was much taller. Their identification, which caused his arrest, was negated on the stand."

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Rucks' brother-in-law, James Walker, said Rucks would not have committed the robbery.

"We knew he was innocent all along," Walker said. "That's not his makeup.

"This kid grew up two blocks from the McDonald's. He was in McDonald's three or four times a week. You're a fool if you rob a place and come back to it."

Andre Poplar, who represented Rucks, said his client is "a good, good guy."

"I'm glad that, in the end, justice prevailed and we had a fair judge in district court that saw that the case should be dismissed," he said.

"For once, I've seen the system work favorably in the beginning rather than having to take the whole case to trial."

The case received wide media attention in the days following Rucks' Jan. 5 arrest.

"His name has really been dragged through the mud," Poplar said.

"He can't sleep and all those types of things. It's good that it's over with for now, and I'm glad he can move on with his life."

Walker spoke about internet commenters who mocked Rucks.

"Ninety-five percent of the people crucified him," he said.

"This is the United States of America. You are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty."

The case is "disconcerting" to Walker.

"He's in the drive-thru," Walker said. "(An employee) says he did this ... Why didn't they call the police in October when (the robbery) happened? They wait until January."

Walker said Rucks almost had a nervous breakdown.

"How many young black men get convicted of crimes they didn't do because they didn't have support? Let's take race out of it. How many people get convicted out of flimsy evidence? This basically came from one girl saying it was him."

Poplar also spoke about the misidentification.

"Quite frankly, it's unfortunate, but most identification of defendants are usually not accurate. It's unfortunate that months went by and (the Oakland County Sheriff's Office) decided to charge.